President Barack Obama stopped just short of asking disgraced Rep. Anthony Weiner to step down — but told NBC News on Monday, “If it was me, I would resign.”

Until now, Obama had avoided commenting directly on the sex scandal, but his allies and senior Democrats have been pressuring the deeply distraught 46-year-old Queens representative to quit to avoid further embarrassing his party.

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VIDEO: Obama on Weiner

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“Well, obviously what he did was highly inappropriate,” Obama said after NBC’s Ann Curry asked him if Weiner should resign. The interview will air Tuesday on the “Today” show.

“I think he’s embarrassed himself, he’s acknowledged that, he’s embarrassed his wife and his family,” added Obama, speaking with Curry after an appearance in North Carolina. “Ultimately there’s going to be a decision for him and his constituents. I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign. Because public service is exactly that, it’s a service to the public. And when you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to at the time when people are worrying about jobs and their mortgages and paying the bills, then you should probably step back.”

The president’s decision to address the scandal directly reflects a growing anxiety that the drumbeat of coverage will tarnish the party at a time when the economy is flagging and Democrats are seizing new opportunities to attack the GOP House plan to overhaul Medicare.

Obama’s remarks come after Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Weiner to step down. Instead, he’s requested a pro forma leave of absence to seek unspecified counseling. He is said to be deeply depressed and searching for a way to resolve a scandal that has turned him from a Democratic rising star into a national punch line.

His position deteriorated over the weekend with the release of more incriminating pictures — including several showing him posing in various states of undress at a location that appears to be the House gym.

Earlier, aboard Air Force One Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney took a more cautious line in describing the president’s position.

“The president feels, we feel at the White House, this is a distraction, as Congressman Weiner has said himself, his behavior was inappropriate, dishonesty was inappropriate,” Carney said. “But the president is focused on his job which is getting this economy continuing to grow, creating jobs and ensuring the safety and security of the American people.”

Carney said he wasn’t aware of whether top aides were involved in Democratic calls for the congressman to resign. When pressed on whether Weiner should step down, Carney declined to elaborate.

“I answered that question. We think this is a distraction obviously from the important business that this President needs to conduct and Congress needs to conduct. Beyond that, I don’t have any more comment.”

"Because public service is exactly that, it’s a service to the public. And when you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to at the time when people are worrying about jobs and their mortgages and paying the bills, then you should probably step back.” Sounds like Obama should resign! He couldn't have described his position any more clearly. He certainly has many personal distractions and his campaign has taken priority over the service he's supposed to be providing to this country. He's not serving us; he's never 'served'. He only cares about what he can do for himself. His favorite words are: "Me, My and I". One and Done!

I see the president has finally weighed in on Anthony Weiner's "inappropriate behavior." I would say that "inappropriate behavior" is when a government agency fails to predict and/or prevent the reckless actions of an economic institution, resulting in a nation-wide loss of jobs and home and a financial crisis from which tens of millions of Americans will never recover. Perhaps the president should suggest that the Secretary of the Treasury resign.

Seizing new opportunities to attack republicans over mediscare? Lol, puleeeze...that ship has sailed. Wieners weiner is the only thing dominating the news right now. I'm hoping that weiner hangs on because this thing will ultimately drag on for months.

For Barry to say that simply means there is more to come in the Weiner scandal, so hopefully the guy will stay in place while the rest of the story comes out. After all Barry has had his own newsy bits and didn't resign, he just hides his info and the LA times is still holding onto the Khalidi toast video where Barry sides with the Palestinians.

Weiner has to deal with his wife still, and Hillary who is coaching her. He's probably moved out by now and in hiding while doing social networking with his 25 year old female shrink......

If Clinton did not have to resign, then this man does not have to. What Clinton did was far more serious than what Weiner did. Someone ask Obama what Clinton should have dodne. Clinton even lied to the face of the American people.

This month’s U6 unemployment number? Down from 16.6% in May to 16.5% in June.

Remember, though, that even the U6 is a government manipulated number, so we need to look a little bit deeper to see what the REAL unemployment rate is in America.

John Williams of Shadow Stats runs the numbers each month, and according to his most recent report, we’re actually hovering at around 21.5%. According to Williams, this is how the Shadow Stats “SGS Alternative” is calculated:

The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994.Â That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers.

Williams’ unemployment numbers are more than double what Washington is telling us.

For those intent on preserving their personal and financial well-being, who are you going to believe?

Will you believe that Government Actions Have Prevented Depression, Financial Meltdown, and Martial Law ?

Or are you preparing for the Greatest Depression and potential monetary and financial chaos yet to come?

Lets see what actually comes out of this. Both sides are going to be hashing it out Im sure.

Look, Im not really a Mitt guy... unless he wins the primary of course. But Im not going to throw him under the bus because some lib is setting him up for a fall.

This isnt much different then some liberal woman in Anchorage setting Palin up with multiple ethics violations law suits ( which she filed for less than $5 each ) costing her ( Palin ) thousands and eventually caused to her leave office to save Alaskan residents the BS.

The woman who carried on a nine-month sexting relationship with Rep. Anthony Weiner is a 40-year-old Las Vegas blackjack dealer named Lisa Weiss.

What’s more, the blonde woman has revealed details that show the liberal congressman lied during his tear-jerking confession Monday at a press conference in New York and that he DID use government resources for his extra-marital activities.

Rep. Weiner said he was “deeply ashamed” and repeated 21 times that he accepted responsibility for his actions.

But he also denied he used government resources during his online sexcapades.

Not so, according to Weiss.

Speaking exclusively to RadarOnline.com, Weiss said she shared 220 messages with Rep. Weiner beginning on August 13, last year — and they were often exchanged during work hours.

In an explicit exchange on March 3 -- the same day he voted on a health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives -- Weiner bemoaned that he had to end their conversation because he was “off to class.”

The casino worker, who said she once worked as a Democratic campaign worker, also claimed she had steamy phone sex with Rep. Weiner -- using a Government telephone.

Said Weiss: "After a while I said to Anthony, 'Why are writing these messages when we can just speak?'

"I gave him my number and he called me from his office and we proceeded to talk dirty for at least 30 minutes.

"A few days later, I tried to call him back on that number.

"But the number wouldn't connect to his office; instead there was a recorded message that it was an outgoing U.S. Congress line only."

Weiss gave her number to him via Facebook and when Rep. Weiner realized he had missed her call, he sent her a message.

He wrote, “How did I miss this chance to rock your world by phone? Give me another chance! Stalk me baby. Very hot.”

A stunning portrait of the pair’s long-time pen pal affair has emerged through a salacious transcript of their sexting – with more than 200 messages!

At their height, the pair traded 69 rude messages in one sitting.

Weiner used a Facebook account that he later abandoned and among other perverted things, said:

* He was a “caped crusader” who was "looking for my sidekick."

* Claimed he was “dying of boredom over here. Plus my tights really itch, I need a distraction."

* Entertained the idea of meeting her in Las Vegas. Weiss asked, "Don’t you ever get to Vegas? I just need to have u for one night." He responded, "I have too."

* Asked his online mistress to send him photos of her ****** and admitted “jerking off” to her photos on Facebook.

* Confessed to two timing her on Facebook, with another woman. “I’m guilty of that,” he admitted.

The pair’s relationship began on August 13, 2010, when Weiss sent Rep. Weiner a message to his Facebook account.

Earlier RadarOnline.com revealed how Rep. Weiner told the woman he had a "ridiculous bulge" in his shorts and asked if she "wanna see" it.